A Zen philosopher says no snowflake ever falls in the wrong place. To understand Zaire Taylor now, you have to know where he's been. The Missouri point guard is part philosopher, part survivor, and part clutch on the court.

"I felt like I was just that guy that would do whatever was needed that day," said Taylor.

"What he did against Kansas and Texas is something. He could have done a lot and we've seen it all this summer and I always knew it," sophomore guard Kim English said.

Taylor is familiar when it comes to doing whatever is necessary. Before he transferred to Missouri from Delaware, he almost lost out on the chance.

"My roommate at the time. He left, out of nowhere. So we ended up getting evicted. He was back a couple of months on his rent," said Taylor.

So, Taylor found himself finishing summer school without a home.

"Tried to find friends I could stay with, but it's summer time and most of the campus is cleared, so there aren't too many people around. Sometimes I would stay in the computer labs all night until the next morning," said Taylor.

A secret he kept from the Missouri coaches and his mom.

"In my mind I was afraid she would make me go home, and in my mind it wasn't worth giving up," said Taylor.

He stared adversity in the face and won. Now Taylor stares down his opponents.

"When you get to look a man in his eye and see if he's about what he says he's about. I feel I'm pretty good at that. That plays into my game. I think that's what I do on defense as far as steals," said Taylor.

Taylor tallied 55 steals last season, including six in one game against Colorado.

"You can just see the leadership coming out of him now. A lot more comfortable. I thought last year he was just finding himself. Where he fit in and how he fit it," Missouri basketball coach Mike Anderson said.

"When I go out there I'm really having fun. I'm talking to my team, I'm talking to their team, I'm talking to my coach, I'm talking to these guys as I pass them," said Taylor.

But he doesn't like to talk about how his worst game came at the worst time. In the Elite Eight he made only 3 of 13 shots, with four of them blocked.

"Coach Anderson doesn't let me forget it. I don't think anybody let's me forget it," said Taylor.

Taylor has a knack for turning troubles around. In his senior season he has focused on taking the Tigers back to where they left off.

"I gotta be a more improved me. That's all. I just gotta be Zaire, but I gotta be better than Zaire was in '08-'09. I gotta be the '09-'10 Zaire," Taylor said.

Taylor scored seven points in Missouri's win over Northwest Missouri State Friday Night.